Environmental issues are of increasing concern to citizens, governmental personnel and corporate leaders in most countries all around the world. There is a growing consensus that conventional accounting practices simply do not provide adequate information to support decisionmaking in environmental management. Simply defined, environmental management accounting is management accounting with a focus on physical information on the flow of energy, water, products and materials as well as monetary information on environmental costs and revenues, and projects related to environmental protection. It is not a different method, but simply a mechanism of doing management accounting in an improved manner. When environmental management accounting is well designed and implement it should ensure better internal management and value-added decisionmaking. Ultimately, environmental management accounting is simply doing better comprehensive management accounting while wearing an environmental hat. This study evaluates the awareness of environmental management accounting in the chemical industry. A questionnaire was administrated to a selected group of par-ticipants. All participants in the study are employees from the chemical industry in South Africa. The selection of participants was based on their knowledge, expertise and understanding of environmental practices, challenges and problems in their respective organisations. Different functional roles from different types of chemical companies were identified to participate. The findings of this study indicated that there is a good level of awareness of environ-mental management accounting in the South African chemical industry. Most orga-nisations are applying sound environmental practices and are adopting environ-mental strategies and different tools to improve their current status. Different levels of awareness exist between different types of chemical industries and between different functional roles in the respective organisations. Operational and capital environ-mental information are disclosed and organisations do generate and record information on physical and monetary environmental management accounting. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Mergers and acquisitions within the chemical industry is a common practice to increase market presence and customer base. Common justifications for M&A include synergy, business growth and competitive advantages, and management reasoning. Synergies are benefits a combined firm is able to receive through cost reductions, market expansion, and efficiencies in processes. As a result, firms are able to grow and position themselves competitively. To prevent an overpriced acquisition, numerous valuation techniques exist. The discount cash flow examines the value of a firm based on future cash flow. The market multiple compares target firms to similar firms in the industry. Lastly, the asset valuation determines the value of a firm based on the liquidation of the firm. To maximize the return on an acquisition, proper due diligence should be conducted based on the needs and goals of the purchaser, and the value added by the target firm. The premium paid for an acquisition should be based on the valued added through the synergies identified. Current business cycles and future outlook should also factor into the pricing of the acquisition. Having a thorough analysis of a target firm can help the acquirer to clearly understand what is being purchased and hence, determine an appropriate price for the acquisition. / text

A local company instituted a new chemical procedure in their spray phosphating system used in the pretreatment of large components for industrial racking systems. An inorganic conversion coating is deposited on the workpiece surface during phosphating and this prepares the surface to receive an organic top-coat. The organic coating is applied to the workpiece surface in the form of a powder and cured to form a continuous film about 80 u.m thick. The solution chemistry of the phosphating system was monitored by sampling and chemical analysis and taking direct reading instrumental measurements on the process and rinse solutions. The process was also evaluated using the results of a waste minimisation audit. This involved gathering data on composition, flow rates and costs of inputs and outputs of the process. Two types of information were collected and used during the audit, namely chemical monitoring (concentration levels of Na, Fe, Zn, Mo, Mn and Cr and measurements of conductivity, TDS, SS and pH) and water usage data on the Phosphating Line and existing data (raw materials, workpieces and utility inputs as well as domestic waste, factory waste and scrap metal outputs). The data were analysed using four established waste minimisation techniques. The Scoping Audit and the Water Economy Assessment results were determined using empirically derived models. The Mass Balance and the True Cost of Waste findings were obtained through more detailed calculations using the results of the chemical analysis. The results of the audit showed that the most important area for waste minimsation in the Phosphating Line was the (dragged-out phosphating chemicals present in) wastewater stream. According to the scoping audit, water usage had the third highest waste minimisation potential behind powder and steel consumption for the entire powder coating process. While the scoping audit and the specific water intake value showed that water consumption for the process was not excessive, it did not indicate that the pollution level in the rinse waters was high. Further, drag-out calculations showed that drag-out volumes were typical of those found in the metal finishing industry. However the presence of high levels of metal species in the rinse waters was highlighted through the chemical monitoring of the Phosphating Line. The True Cost of Waste Analysis estimated potential financial savings for the effluent stream at about R8000 for a period of 105 days. However this does not take into consideration the cost of the liability associated with this stream when exceeding effluent discharge limits (given in the Trade Effluent Bylaws) or of the chemical treatment necessary to render this stream suitable for discharge to sewer. Intervention using only "low-cost-no-cost" waste minimisation measures was recommended as a first step before contemplating further areas for technical or economic feasibility studies. However, a further study involving monitoring the sludge was recommended in order to establish the potential financial savings offered by this waste stream. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

The significant change that organisations must endure in order to survive, let alone prosper, has grown tremendously in the past two decades. The lack of talent, especially amongst the previously disadvantaged groups, is one of numerous challenges South African organisations are confronted with. Organisations are therefore required to determine indicators of intention to leave as it is argued to be the single most important predictor of actual quitting behaviour. Variables found to relate to intention to leave include a sense of powerlessness and a lack of engagement. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between leadership empowerment behaviour, job insecurity, engagement and intention to leave in a petrochemical laboratory. The research method consisted of a brief literature review and an empirical study. A cross - sectional survey design was used. The entire population of employees working in a business unit of a petrochemical organisation, namely the Laboratory, was targeted. The Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire, Job Insecurity Inventory, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and two questions measuring intention to leave were used. In addition, a biographical questionnaire was administered. The statistical analysis was conducted with the aid of the SPSS programme. The statistical method employed in the study consisted of descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson product-moment correlation and a multiple regression analysis. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine the significance of differences between the experience of leadership empowerment behaviour, job insecurity, engagement and intention to leave of demograpbic groups. Results indicated that leadership empowerment behaviour was negatively correlated with cognitive job insecurity and that a negative relationship existed between leadership empowerment behaviour and intention to leave. Leadership empowerment behaviour was found to be positively correlated with engagement. A positive relationship existed between cognitive job insecurity and affective job insecurity, as well as between cognitive job insecurity and intention to leave. Cognitive job insecurity was found to be negatively correlated with engagement. A negative relationship was established between engagement and intention to leave. All these correlations were found to be statistically and practically significant with a medium to large effect. Regression analysis indicated that leadership empowerment behaviour and affective job insecurity did not show a significant amount of predictive value towards intention to leave. Cognitive job insecurity and engagement were found to be indicators of intention to leave. With regards to experiencing leadership empowerment behaviour, engagement and intention to leave, no significant differences were found between demographic groups. Participants in middle non -management positions, however, experienced higher levels of affective job insecurity than those in senior management positions. Conclusions and limitations of the current research were discussed and recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

M.Comm. / The primary aim of this research is to indicate that the lack of economic progress in the Northern Province is basically caused by the absence of a strong manufacturing sector, particularly the chemical industry. The chemical industry is a key sector in both the primary and secondary sectors. In agriculture and mining it provides fertilizers and explosives respectively to increase output. Diversified farming will emerge as a direct response to a rise in agricultural output. As the population in the Northern Province is rapidly rising, the demand for agricultural products will also rise. This will have a positive influence on the income of farmers. As the income rises, production in agriculture will increase which will bring about a demand for implements, tractors and other equipment. In the manufacturing sector the chemical industry will stimulate the process of industrialisation in the Northern Province. The industrialisation process will involve the outward-orientation of the economy. This means that the chemical industry will act as a leading sector by showing forward and backward linkages. The economy of the Northern Province is performing poorly in terms of GGP. The role of the government in providing services cannot alone generate a sustainable economic growth. A sustainable economic growth in the Province can take place if the chemical industry plays a crucial role in producing chemicals which can be used in agriculture and manufacturing. Therefore this study will show that economic growth in the Northern Province can be sustained by growth in the chemical industry.

Neste trabalho foi estudado um problema de dimensionamento de lotes em uma indústria química brasileira, cujo objetivo era determinar o tamanho dos lotes dos produtos para atender às demandas, minimizando os custos produtivos. Os itens podem ser produzidos em máquinas paralelas distintas, através de diferentes processos, e devem ser armazenados em taques cativos, exclusivos a um produto, ou multipropósitos, compartilhado entre produtos, desde que não simultaneamente. Foram propostos dois modelos matemáticos de programação inteira mista para representar o problema, o primeiro apresentava uma função objetivo compreendendo o preço das matérias-primas consumidas nas reações, os gastos com a estocagem de produtos e o custo de descarte de produtos quando os tanques de armazenamento não tiverem capacidade suficiente para armazená-los, já o segundo estendendo este modelo para considerar custos de preparação de máquina. Experimentos computacionais com os modelos propostos, utilizando instâncias geradas a partir dos dados fornecidos pela empresa, mostraram que o software de otimização empregado foi capaz de resolver poucas instâncias, após uma hora de processamento. Portanto, foram propostas heurísticas construtivas do tipo LP-and-fix e relax-and-fix, além de heurísticas de melhoria do tipo fix-and-optimize. Após serem realizados testes com essas heurísticas, constatou-se que algumas proporcionaram a obtenção de soluções factíveis de boa qualidade, quando comparadas às obtidas pelo software, sendo ainda capazes de resolver um maior número de instâncias / In this dissertation the lot sizing problem in a chemical Brazilian industry was studied, with the goal to determine the products lot size to satisfy the demands, minimizing the production costs. The items can be produced on distinct parallel machines through different processes and then must be stored in exclusive tanks, used by only one product, or multipurpose tanks, when more than one product can use the tank, but not simultaneously. Two models were proposed to represent the problem, the first one aiming to minimize the price of raw material consumed in the reactions, storage product spending and the cost of discarting products when the storage tanks do not have enough capacity to store them, and the second one considering setup cost either. Computational experiments using the proposed models, with instances were generated from the data provided by the company, showed that the used optimization software was able to solve only few instances after processing for one hour. In this dissertation we propose constructives heuristics such LP-and-fix and relax-and-fix, and improving heuristics like fix-and-optimize. After performing the tests with those heuristics, it was found that some of them provided feasible solutions with good quality, when compared to the ones obtained by the software, and they were also able to solve a larger number of instances

Este trabalho é norteado pela hipótese de que subsidiárias de empresas multinacionais do setor químico têm expandido seu papel no país ao longo das últimas décadas, indo além das atividades tradicionais como venda e produção, passando a realizar novas atividades como pesquisa e desenvolvimento (P&D) e marketing estratégico. As atividades de P&D por sua vez também têm evoluído desde projetos mais básicos focados em ajustes de formulações às condições locais para projetos mais complexos que geram novos conhecimentos e possuem alto potencial de aplicação em outras geografias. Por meio de um estudo de caso em uma unidade de negócios de uma subsidiária brasileira de uma multinacional da indústria química, este trabalho investiga, descreve e discute a natureza da inovação nesta unidade de análise. Neste trabalho, são estudados atributos do pool de ideias e do pipeline de projetos proveniente da unidade de negócios sob a luz de informações internas e do referencial teórico proveniente de uma revisão sistemática da literatura. Observou-se que há um grande foco e estímulo ao desenvolvimento da inovação na unidade de análise, e que a mesma parece estar em um processo evolutivo em que se começa a notar o surgimento de ideias e de projetos de inovação disruptivos. A partir do estudo de caso e da discussão baseada em dados internos e na literatura, é possível ilustrar o funcionamento das atividades de P&D em uma multinacional da indústria química com subsidiária baseada no Brasil. Como sugestões para trabalhados futuros é apontada a possibilidade de se organizar um estudo da inovação em subsidiárias no Brasil que envolvam diferentes empresas e setores da indústria. / This work is guided by the hypothesis that subsidiaries of multinational chemical companies have expanded their role in the country over the last decades, going beyond traditional activities such as sale and production, starting to carry out new activities such as research and development (R&D) and strategic marketing. R&D activities have also evolved from more basic projects focused on formulation adjustments to local conditions, to more complex projects that generate new knowledge and have a high potential for application in other geographies. Through a case study in a business unit of a Brazilian subsidiary of a chemical industry multinational, this work investigates, describes and discusses the nature of innovation in this unit of analysis. In this work, the attributes of the idea pool and the project pipeline from the business unit are studied in the light of internal information and the theoretical framework from a systematic review of the literature. It was observed that there is a great focus and stimulus to the development of innovation in the unit of analysis, and that it seems to be in an evolutionary process in which one begins to notice the emergence of ideas and disruptive innovation projects. From the case study and the discussion based on internal data and literature, it is possible to illustrate the operation of R & D activities in a multinational chemical industry with a subsidiary based in Brazil. As suggestions for future work is pointed out the possibility of organizing a study of innovation in subsidiaries in Brazil that involves different companies and types of industries.

A presente pesquisa tem como principal tema a decisão estratégica de fazer ou comprar no contexto do setor químico. Apesar de ser um tema relativamente recorrente, o foco da literatura neste tipo de pesquisa tem sido no contexto da indústria automotiva e/ou eletroeletrônica. Indaga-se, então, se existe aderência entre os modelos teóricos e o que ocorre nas empresas do contexto químico brasileiro. O desenvolvimento teórico desta pesquisa teve por base uma compilação dos principais modelos de fazer ou comprar apresentados pela literatura desde final da década de 1980. O desenvolvimento empírico teve por base uma pesquisa qualitativa, predominantemente exploratória, baseada na técnica de estudo de casos múltiplos, contando com uma amostra de duas empresas de grande porte no contexto químico brasileiro. Foi verificado que existe um razoável nível de aderência entre o que preconiza a literatura e o que é feito nas empresas pesquisadas, mas existem algumas contribuições relevantes que podem ser consideradas para os modelos de fazer ou comprar existentes na literatura. / The main theme of this research is the strategic decision making process associated with make-or-buy decisions. Said theme has been developed in the literature with primary focus on automotive and hardware industries, not chemical industry, what leads to the main question of this research: what is the adherence level between the literature and the actual behavior of the chemical industry, when going through this type of strategic decision making process? The literature research development was primarily based on a compilation of different makeor- buy decision models which have been presented by the literature since late eighties. The empirical research development was based on an exploratory qualitative approach, with the aide of multiple case studies techniques on a small sample of two large Brazilian chemical enterprises. The main result indicates a reasonable level of adherence to what the literature has presented so far, however there are other important aspects that should be taken as relevant contributions from the empirical research to the existing make-or-buy decision process models.

O recurso água é de primordial importância para a vida, para a sociedade e para os processos industriais. A redução da disponibilidade de água, devido ao aumento de sua demanda, à poluição das bacias hidrográficas e à escassez de fontes limpas, pressionam os órgãos reguladores a elaborar leis que restrinjam seu consumo, a criar normas que controlem o despejo de efluentes e aplicar tarifas que elevem o custo do uso da água. Portanto, técnicas de conservação e reúso são elementos importantes para as empresas reduzirem seus custos e contribuírem positivamente com o desenvolvimento sustentável. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar um estudo de caso real que visa à redução no consumo de água em uma unidade industrial do setor Químico. Serão aqui descritos os processos industriais envolvidos, as necessidades e especificações associadas, as metodologias utilizadas para construção do cenário atual de consumo e para o desenvolvimento das propostas de reúso. O trabalho mostra que existem oportunidades de modificações nos processos de digestão, de destilação, de recuperação de produtos e de drenagens que implicariam uma redução no consumo de água, em economia financeira com uma taxa de retorno atrativa e com retorno do investimento em um curto espaço de tempo. / Water is essential for life, for society and for industrial processes. Any decrease in availability, as a consequence of increased demand and/or pollution of its sources, puts pressure on the regulating agencies to create specific legislation in order to restrict water consumption, control effluent discharge and to apply tariffs that raise the cost of water use. Therefore, wastewater reuse techniques are very important for companies to reduce costs and contribute to sustainable development. The objective of this project is to discuss the reduction of water consumption in a chemical industrial unit. The procedure covers the study of the industrial process pertaining to water, its requirements and specifications, the strategies applied to address the water/wastewater allocation issue. Finally, the project presents opportunities for modifications to some specific operation units such as digestion, distillation, product recovery and draining processes, which lead to a decrease in fresh water consumption and wastewater generation. Besides the environmental benefits, the company achieves financial savings as well as good relations with local community.

A adoção crescente das normas internacionais de contabilidade, as IFRS, é o reflexo de que a comunicação entre empresas, credores, investidores e demais \"stakeholders\" acompanha as mudanças radicais observadas nos negócios. O trabalho de elaboração de tais normas internacionais ficou a cargo do \"Board\" do IASB e já se identifica ampla convergência no plano mundial rumo às citadas IFRS. A IFRS 1, denominada \"First Time Adoption\" refere-se aos requisitos a serem observados no primeiro exercício em que uma empresa publica suas demonstrações em norma contábil local e em IFRS. Este estudo tem por objetivo verificar se, no ano da primeira adoção, há diferença nos grupos de contas patrimoniais do ativo e do passivo nos balanços das empresas dos setores químico e de mineração listadas nas bolsas do Reino Unido, da França e da Alemanha, calculados com base no último balanço em norma contábil local, em relação aos mesmos grupos da primeira demonstração publicada em IFRS. Através da pesquisa nas bolsas de valores destes três países, foram analisadas 42 empresas, sendo 18 empresas de mineração e 24 companhias do segmento químico. Foram utilizados os testes estatísticos t-student para amostras emparelhadas e Wilcoxon para a comparação das médias das diferenças das proporções de cada grupo do patrimônio em relação ao ativo ou passivo total. Os resultados demonstram que existe diferença significativa na estrutura dos grupos do ativo e do passivo pré e pós-adoção das IFRS, tanto na comparação entre países quanto na comparação entre setores. Os resultados mostram também que cada grupo sofreu impactos de magnitudes diferentes. Para os setores e países desta amostra, a comparação dos resultados desfaz a conclusão equivocada de que a adoção das normas contábeis internacionais traz consigo o benefício da uniformidade do padrão contábil e que os efeitos das alterações nos grupos patrimoniais em decorrência da transição de um padrão contábil local para as IFRS devem ser levados em consideração quando da escolha do balanço para uma análise no ano da primeira adoção. / The increasing adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards, IFRS, is consequence of the communication among enterprises, creditors, investors and stakeholders that is following the deep changes that have been taken place in the businesses. The international standards were set by IASB and it has already been identified a worldwide convergence toward IFRS. IFRS 1, named as First Time Adoption, applies to the requisites that have to be considered in the first-year balance sheet in IFRS reconciled with the local GAAP. This study has for objective to verify if there are differences in the current and noncurrent assets as well as in the current and non-current liabilities groups stated within the balance sheets of mining and chemicals companies listed at London Stock Exchange, Frankfurt Stock Exchange and Paris-Euronext, considering the local GAAP for each country and the first time adoption of IFRS. After a research in the referred stock exchanges, 42 companies (18 mining and 24 chemicals) have been picked and taken into analysis. The statistics are based on Wilcoxon and t-student for paired samples tests. They have compared the average of the differences in the current and non-current groups in relation to total assets or liabilities. The results show there are significant differences in the groups of assets and liabilities taken before and after the first adoption of international financial reporting standards, considering both comparisons between countries and sectors. The results also demonstrate that the groups of current and non-current accounts were impacted in different percentiles with the adoption of IFRS 1. The comparison of results illustrates that, when the analysis of a balance sheet in the first year adoption is necessary, the IFRS have not benefited the uniformity on accounting standards for the sectors and countries that have been used in this study and the effects of changes within assets and liabilities groups have to be taken into account as consequence of the transition from UK-GAAP, GER-GAAP and FRAGAAP to IFRS.